Organ donation is the gift of an organ to someone who needs it. There are over 3000 organ transplants in the UK every year. However, due to a gap between the number of available organs and the number of people on the organ waiting list, three people a die a day waiting for a transplant.

People from BAME communities are both more likely to require an organ transplant, but at the same time are less likely to be on the organ register.

Statistics from African-Caribbean and South Asian communities are particularly arresting.

BAME communities represent around 14% of the population but only around 5% are blood donors

Asian people wait 891 days, black people wait 985 days compared to white people who wait of 723 days for a kidney

90% of people from white ethnic backgrounds typically find a bone match, for minority ethnic people the rate is 20%

These statistics show why organ donation by people from BAME backgrounds is so important. However, research suggests that people from BAME communities may be more likely to experience assumed cultural or religious barriers to donation, confusion about who can donate and receive organs, a reluctance to discuss death, and fear of bodily disfigurement.